Bishop Diego held Villanova Prep to five second-half points on Wednesday and used a balanced scoring attack to topple the Wildcats 40-17 in a Frontier League game in the Bird Cage.
The Cardinals led 17-12 at halftime, then dominated the third quarter 14-3 to extend the lead to 16 (31-15) entering the fourth period. Bishop outscored Villanova 23-5 in the second half.
Julia De La Cruz topped the Cardinals (15-6, 2-1) with 11 points, Mileyni Sanchez had nine and Elliot Redkey scored eight for Bishop, which boosted its home record to 8-2.
“We started out well leading 8-2 after one quarter but got sloppy defensively in the second and only led 17-12 at halftime,” said Cardinals coach Jeff Burich. “We tightened our defense with Citlali Morales’ effort and outscored them 14-3 in the third. Mileyni made two 3’s and Elliot added one in the quarter. Julia and Elliot did a great job attacking the basket and getting to the free-throw line.
“We still have a few players out with injuries and are hoping to get them back next week. We got a solid effort from everyone. I really like the way the team is coming together. Our depth will be a key to the second half of league.”
The Cardinals will wrap the first round of league on Tuesday when they host Providence at 6 p.m.